The Lakeland
Police D.A.R.T. program, initiated in June, 1991, is a nationally
recognized, cooperative effort between the Lakeland Police Department and
civilian volunteers. Sworn officers and volunteers work together to
address the needs of families involved in domestic violence incidents.
Officers handle the law enforcement duties of the call, while civilian
volunteers handle the non-law enforcement/human services
aspects.

Sworn
officers who volunteer to serve in D.A.R.T. must apply to the Department
in order to perform this specialized assignment. Once selected, officers
must attend 40 hours of crisis intervention training and 40 hours of
domestic violence intervention training. These officers perform their
D.A.R.T. duties in addition to normal work requirements. Although
non-specialized patrol officers also handle domestic violence calls,
D.A.R.T. officers assigned to the squad assist by taking pictures,
completing supplemental and/or follow-up reports, and by providing input
regarding arrest decisions. Their role is to ensure that Lakeland's
judicial requirements are met for domestic violence cases.

The
volunteer D.A.R.T. group consists of citizens who must apply to the
Department. All applications are screened, a eligible applicants must
satisfactorily complete a background check and a thorough interview with a
board consisting of D.A.R.T. members. Once selected, they receive 16 hours
of training on domestic violence and basic listening and counseling skills
before being placed "on-call." In addition, many volunteers complete the
same 80 hours of training the officers undergo. This training teaches them
how to diffuse situations and understand how they, as a volunteers,
complement the officers' response.

Lakeland's
civilian D.A.R.T. program is comprised of approximately 30 volunteers and
one coordinator. The coordinator prepares an on-call schedule, interviews
volunteer applicants, and makes public presentations about D.A.R.T. upon
request. Four volunteers act as liaisons between the sworn and civilian
components. The liaison contacts the on-call volunteer to respond to a
call once he or she is informed by an officer of the call. If the on-call
volunteer is not available, the liaison accepts responsibility for the
call.

Officers
contact a D.A.R.T. volunteer as part of every domestic violence
investigation. The on-call volunteer usually speaks to the victim via
telephone. In some cases, they meet with the victim(s) at the hospital
emergency room or another safe location. This contact with a friendly
voice or face helps to reduce the intimidation a victim may feel at the
sight of a uniformed officer. The volunteer offers information, support
and informs the victim of available resources. Their primary role is to
act as a facilitator for information exchange. They answer questions such
as "What will happen to my children if I try to get help?" and "How do I
get an injunction to protect me?" and Where do I go now?" The volunteers
take an active interest in each victim, making sure that they are provided
with appropriate information as their needs change over time.

Because of
the specialized approach and attention given to each domestic violence
call, Lakeland has an exceptionally high clearance rate for these cases.
Of 995 domestic violence offenses in 1996, 522 arrests were made and all
but 11 cases were cleared. These figures reflect a 98.9 percent clearance
rate and a 52 percent arrest rate.

The Lakeland
D.A.R.T. program has an annual budget of $3,000 for travel expenses,
training and educational materials, equipment and supplies necessary for
presentations, copying expenses, postage, phone charges and other
miscellaneous costs. Work space and an interview room is provided by the
police department. Sources of funding include small grants and awards,
local corporate and private donations, and the Lakeland Police Department
Chaplaincy Board which funds a $1,000 part-time coordinator position. 21
police personnel are involved in the program, and 32 volunteers (including
eight bilingual volunteers.